Erggelet Brothers Old Vine Carignane, Contra Costa County, California 2021
Tasting Notes
"Bright and lifted, with notes of rose hip, cherry, and cranberry layered over red berries, sandalwood, and a touch of licorice. Light on its feet with a brambly, sand-driven freshness that keeps every sip lively." ā Harvest Wine Shop
Details
Variety: 100% Old Vine Carignane
Region: Contra Costa County, CA ā Del Barba Vineyard
Volume: 750ml
Alcohol Volume: 13.6%
Farming Practice: Dry-Farmed; Sandy Soils; Minimal Intervention
Cases Made: 118 (Super Small Production)
Serving Suggestion: Serve slightly chilled (55-60°F).
MUST BE 21+ TO ORDER WINE
About Erggelet Brothers
Erggelet Brothers is the Contra Costa County project of Julian and Sebastian Erggelet, two German-born brothers who traded a more conventional career path for some of California's oldest surviving vineyards. Their wines are a study in restraint ā meticulous farming paired with hands-off winemaking, built to let a handful of century-old sites speak for themselves.
From Germany to Contra Costa
Julian and Sebastian grew up in southern Germany, where an early taste of their grandfather's leftover Riesling planted the seed for a lifelong interest in wine. Each pursued a different degree first ā Sebastian in Philosophy & Economics, Julian in Medicine ā before both circled back to winemaking: Sebastian returned to school for viticulture and enology, while Julian finished his medical degree. From there, the brothers spent years working harvests and cellars across France, Switzerland, Australia, and Spain, sharpening their palates before landing in California in 2014. After stints at respected Napa Valley producers including OVID and Seven Stones, they started making their own wine in 2015. Sebastian now also serves as Associate Winemaker at Grgich Hills Estate in Rutherford, while Julian farms full-time in Contra Costa County.
Why Contra Costa's Old Vines
The brothers were drawn to Contra Costa for its collection of century-old, own-rooted vines ā a rare survivor of pre-Prohibition California planted by Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish immigrants in the sandy soils along the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Many of these blocks, including the famous Del Barba Vineyard in Oakley, are still farmed by the same families who planted them generations ago. Erggelet Brothers sources fruit from several of these historic sites, alongside five acres of their own certified organic estate vineyard in Brentwood, farming with an almost obsessive level of care and minimal intervention in the cellar.
What Makes the Wines Distinct
Working with grapes like Carignane, Mataro (MourvĆØdre), and Zinfandel grown on deep, own-rooted sand, Erggelet Brothers wines tend toward brightness and lift rather than brawn ā a reflection of both the sandy terroir and the brothers' European winemaking instincts. Farming is organic or practicing organic across the board, yields are naturally low, and cellar work stays deliberately light-handed, letting each vineyard's particular character come through in the glass.
Why Harvest Wine Shop Carries Erggelet Brothers
We're drawn to producers who treat old vines as something to protect rather than exploit, and Erggelet Brothers does exactly that ā meticulous, low-intervention winemaking from some of California's most historic, endangered vineyards. If you care about where your wine actually comes from, this is a label worth knowing.
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